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A Walk off the Beaten Path

Riku holds out his hand, but no hope that Sora will actually take it.  In all their years of friendship, Riku has never been the hand-holding type and Sora held hands only when trying to help Kairi keep up with running or when Selphie threatened him with bodily harm if he didn’t when she was trying to balance on the rails of a fence.  Boys don’t hold hands, after all.

But right now, Riku is surrounded by power like he never even dreamed of, the Dark licking at his heels and swelling around him and it’s all just right here waiting to be channeled.  And Riku wants to share it with Sora, with the one other person on the islands who could possibly leave and keep up with Riku.  Kairi may have come from off the islands, but she doesn’t remember it and doesn’t want to leave as much as Riku.  No one does.  Tidus and Wakka don’t care to leave the only place they’ve ever known and Selphie is content to be a so-called princess’ champion in a nowhere land and Kairi wants to go only because Sora and Riku are and only Sora out of all of them sees leaving as the adventure that it would be.

Riku holds out his hand and waits because even if Sora doesn’t take his hand, he will join in the adventure that the Darkness promises.  Light like he’s never seen catches his eye; Riku thinks it’s the Darkness that makes Kairi glow and Selphie appear as a miniature sun behind her.  The girls call the boys’ names, and Riku thinks for a second that Sora will turn away because he sees a smaller but similar light flicker in Sora-

A hand curls around Riku’s and the Darkness surges around them.

Let the adventure begin.

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Something I find really interesting is this panel from "Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot" where the Phantom Blot explains why he didn't straight up kill Mickey even though he clearly overpowered him multiple times and could easily do so.

I think this moment is interesting because it kind of adds a bit of depth to him beyond a generic killer/criminal. Plus it isn't that he is against death in general (as he still puts Mickey into traps with the intention of killing him) but directly being involved where he can see the person dying. What is even more interesting is how people interpret it.

Some people see it as a oddly wimpy moment for the Phantom Blot, with even some just straight up ignoring it.

Some interpret it solely from a Doylist perspective where they understand that the real reason Blot can't kill Mickey is because the story would be over and Disney probably wouldn't be okay with their main character being killed off.

Some take it at straight up face value that he doesn't like to kill, because he doesn't like to see things die and that's it. Just as he said.

And some people even add some element to expand on him as a character such as having some kind of phobia related to blood and gore or even a traumatic experience with death to further expand why he isn't comfortable directly killing someone.

Personally, I like to interpret it as a reflection of a key part of the Phantom Blot's character: His lack of accountability. If there is one thing that is common in many interpretations of the Blot is his refusal to answer for his criminal actions. His first thought when being placed in prison is usually to escape rather than reflect on what he did. And I feel like his aversion to directly killing someone is connected. When he indirectly kills someone in a different location. It is out of sight and out of mind. He can just easily move on to his next criminal action without even a care in the world. But that becomes a bit harder when he is more directly involved.

I like the idea that he constantly tries to separate himself from fault. You even kind of see this in the original comic in how he will sometimes place the blame on Mickey for getting involved instead of him trying to kill him. And while you could say he is just teasing Mickey, you could also see it as him trying to justify his actions. He tries to put up mental barriers to protect himself truly understanding the harm of his actions. And I feel like a part of him knows that if he were to ever directly end a life that it would be a lot harder for him to justify in his mind. He would no longer be able to just ignore it. Any mental barriers he made would crumble.

I also kind of wonder if death also reminds him how vulnerable he actually is. That no matter how skilled and above everyone else he thinks he is. He is not free from the eventuality that is death. That is one thing everyone has in common no matter who you are. His entire criminal career could end before he even achieves the amount of fame and success that he wants. He could be gone from this world and even worse completely forgotten in the sands of time.

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